AgustaWestland, March 03, 2015 - AgustaWestland and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace announced today the signing of a three-year Basic Ordering Agreement for the purchase of spare parts, ground support equipment, tools, technical assistance, training and additional services, dedicated to the AW139s operated by commercial customers and government agencies in Japan.

The agreement between AgustaWestland and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace, official distributor for the type in Japan, will further strengthen their cooperation to support the growing fleet of AW139s in Japan, ensuring enhanced and quicker delivery of services to the Japanese operators to maximize fleet operational effectiveness.

A comprehensive range of flight and ground maintenance training will be provided at the AgustaWestland Training Academy headquartered at Sesto Calende, Italy, with part of the basic courses to be made available in Japan through to the end of 2017.

Approximately 40 AW139s are already in service in Japan today. The AW139 has proven to be extremely successful in Japan performing a wide range of public utility roles including search and rescue and coast guard duties with the Japan Coast Guard, law enforcement, firefighting and disaster relief with the Japan National Police Agency, Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Fire and Disaster Management Agency, as well as several prefectures and city authorities.

All Nippon Helicopter (NHK) and Kansai TV have chosen the AW139 to carry out Electronic News Gathering (ENG) missions across the nation. With orders for nearly 900 aircraft in more than 70 countries from approximately 220 customers and over 730 aircraft already in service, the AW139 is the best-selling intermediate weight class twin-engine helicopter in the world.

AgustaWestland's success in the Japanese helicopter market continues to grow with strong sales in recent years across its complete commercial product range. AgustaWestland Japan’s headquarters, located in Tokyo, has been supporting the company’s growing business in Japan since 2008. The helicopter fleet in Japan is also supported by four official service centers which provide maintenance and repair services, confirming AgustaWestland’s commitment to current and future rotorcraft requirements in Japan.